The Sins Are Taking Over
by DontWaitUpForMe
Summary: After a mission gone wrong and her coincidental acquirement of ten oddly intelligent nin-wolves, Sakura finds herself unknowingly housing the subjects of all her nightmares. It isn't long before she grows attached...and the feelings are reciprocated. Mainly Akasaku. Some Multisaku. AU.


Disclaimer: This story is entirely fictitious in all aspects and does not generate any profit whatsoever. The creative rights for the characters mentioned belong to their original creators. Any lyrics and quotes cited belong to their respectful originators.

**The Sins Are Taking Over**

"**Give It All You Got."**

**~ \ ~ Prologue Start. ~ / ~**

"How many ninja are in the ANBU Black Ops Division in Konoha?" The voice of the Sound interrogator was gruff, rough from years of smoking and yelling. Large, calloused hands –evidence of his seniority in his area of expertise- flipped a kunai skillfully, a wicked gleam of poison dripping down the sharp edge. The movement was meant to scare his captive, or perhaps strengthen the underlying threat laced in his tone. The man had an intimidating aura; something about his self-confidence seemed to magnify the effect of his words. She knew he was going to hurt her. Yet, there was no heavy weight of terror pooling in her gut, no inkling of heart-stopping, stiffening, _crippling _dread (because nowadays if she were to feel fear, it would be paralyzing and no less). Maybe the absence was because nothing he did would make her utter a word about her home…No. She knew better.

Nothing he did could be worse than what _that woman _had done.

Thinking anything different would just be insulting.

"So, we have to do this the hard way?" She resisted the urge to roll her dull –_normal, commonplace-_brown eyes. This guy was a complete idiot. Did he really think an ANBU would so easily give up information? He hadn't even drawn blood yet. It would take a _lot _more than words to get her to speak, let alone frighten her. The only person who had ever successfully scared her as of late was Morino Ibiki, and this moron had _nothing _on that man.

Sakura shifted in her bindings, wrists and ankles tied to the legs of the chair with chakra-restraining cuffs. All her armor had been removed during the time she had been unconscious. Silently, the kunoichi thanked Shikamaru, one of her teammates, for suggesting that all ANBU masks contain the jutsu that made it next to impossible for them to be taken off by someone other than the wearer. The bulky ninja had tried and failed to take off her Washi mask, porcelain set in the face of an Eagle. It was specially modified for her, putting up a continuous henge to keep her unique features from view. Everyone knew about the Hokage's second apprentice of the legendary Team 7 as well as of the sole female member of ANBU Team Phoenix, but few were privileged to the knowledge that they were one and the same. She wished to keep it that way. Thankfully, keeping her identity a secret (hidden behind a fully covered face, murky coffee-colored eyes and hair) was not a part of her current set of issues.

Ugh, Shiranui better be fucking grateful she had taken the fall for his mistake. If not for his negligence, the mission would have been a perfect success—instead, Sakura, as captain, was in for a no doubt unlikable experience. When she got back, he was going to wish he'd _never been born_.

The torture-expert advanced forward slowly, a twisted grin contorting his already menacing features. Sakura –although it was off-topic and definitely not aiding her in any way _whatsoever_- couldn't help but think one thing:

He was one _ugly _mother fucker.

**.**

**.**

"Gah!" Sakura grunted as rough hands yanked her off the floor of the cell she had been placed (thrown) in. The torture had been long and grueling, six hours of nonstop cutting, burning, breaking, and bruising. Everywhere ached, though what hurt the most was the red, raw skin on the tops of her forearms.

The sizzling heat of two smoldering hot irons placed on each of her arms was only a precursor to the gruesome conclusion of her suffering. She feared she would never be able to look at sandpaper the same way again. A shiver raced down her spine when she remembered the sound of the rough parchment swiping across her tender, burnt flesh. It was unpleasant. As Sakura looked down at her arms, she grimaced at their grisly appearance.

She would have healed them, but the amount of chakra in her reserves was pitifully small. It was a good thing she had near perfect control, or else this would have _never_ worked_._ Her shishou would have shit a brick if she knew how big of a risk taker her surrogate daughter/ favorite ANBU captain/ second apprentice actually was. That –amongst other things- was one of the reasons she was damn good at her job and proud of it, too.

Taking in the figures and musculatures of the two men dragging her forward, Sakura narrowed her eyes, plans racing like rapid-fire through her mind. _To Hell with it. _Tensing her legs, her spiked sandals found traction on the floor and pushing off with this momentum, she gripped the guards' upper arms and pulled them towards each other. Caught unawares, they slammed heads, a loud _crack! _echoing in the emptiness of the hall, the force knocking their teeth. Sakura took the given moment to gather some chakra in her right foot. As one ninja regained his balance, he lunged for her, anger twisting what could have been a fair face into a grizzly misinterpretation. She swung her leg and kicked him in the gut, sending his back slamming into the wall. In a flash, Sakura had her hands around his throat and twisted, a sickening _snap! _letting her know she had successfully broken his neck.

The other one hit her from behind, knocking the wind clear from her lungs. She scowled, tasting the familiar iron tang of blood accumulating behind her split lip and spitting it to the floor. Fueling her hand with chakra, she struck with the poise of a cobra, fingers penetrating skin and ripping the artery she aimed for clean out of her attacker's neck. He gurgled once, a pathetic, choked cough, before slumping to the floor, blood pooling in a flood of red around his body, eyes black and unseeing.

Cake.

That was almost too easy.

Sakura spared them no other glance, far too accustomed to the act of killing to feel such human emotions like regret or guilt. (How could she not be after everything she'd seen?) Right then, though, she needed to run, and fast.

The pinkette shot off, sprinting down the hall, the only sound a shrill whistling of air past her ears. They must have kept the jail cells away from all the other sectors in the hideout, perhaps to make sure the prisoners didn't hear or see anything they weren't supposed to. This was to her advantage and paired with the fact they underestimated her willpower –fools, have they not heard of the Will of Fire?- she knew breaking out would be a simple feat.

Sharply turning a corner, Sakura halted, faltering when she heard something expressly horrifying.

Crying.

High-pitched keening.

For several moments, a boiling inferno of anger and hatred opened up in the pit of her stomach before the medic in her took control, directing her body to race towards the room it was coming from. She wouldn't put it past that sick snake-bastard to experiment on infants. _Orochimaru's sick enough to do something like that_.

Sakura threw open the door, bursting into the room with fists clenched, killing intent clear in the air despite her lack of chakra. Her entrance caused the deep, mournful whimpers to cease, the air turning tense.

Her first thought was _trap, _but her instincts were not screaming for evasive maneuvers, her eyes caught no offensive movements from the dark. Cautiously, she moved inside.

Inside the dim area, two large cages sat, black, shadowed figures hiding ominously behind the bars. Curiosity fueling her actions, Sakura felt against the wall by the door frame, flipping the switch when she found it. Lights flickered on above-head, illuminating a room occupied by shelves and tables covered in vials and papers, obviously some type of research. She looked past that, silently gasping at the sight of ten strangely colored animals.

Ninja wolves.

She staggered in further, leaning the bulk of her weight against one of the numerous tables. Several beakers clacked and rattled dangerously close to tipping. In the span of several seconds, the kunoichi contemplated what action she should take, if any at all. She was glad that she hadn't found any children, but still felt utter hatred for the snake sannin. _They're as helpless as newborns, _she seethed; _how dare he take summons and fucking lock them up as if they're prisoners! _The man was either incredibly stupid or thoroughly insane. Sakura would have placed her bet on the latter.

The cruel and ruthless ANBU in her knew she was wasting precious time that could be used to get away. Every second squandered was a second closer the sound nin were to recapturing her. It would be easy in her current chakra-less, near exhausted state. All the same, the caring medic of Team 7 couldn't stand the thought of leaving the poor things when she had a chance to free them. Although, what if they were one of Orochimaru's feral experiments? An image of Sasuke flashed through her mind, phantom pain flaring in her sides, and she immediately felt all sympathy wash clean from her body.

When the scale tipped to the ANBU side and she turned to leave, her eyes caught with those of a beautiful blonde pup. Its blue orbs held more knowledge than she thought capable for a bestial summon—especially one so young. Normally with age came awareness, the older a summon, the more humanly intelligent they became. It was as if the juvenile knew that if it stayed any longer than death was inevitable. Pain and helplessness colored its irises a dark azure, but beyond that, concealed amidst the vulnerability, Sakura could see a spark of hope when it looked at her. Her black heart nearly broke in two.

_Those eyes are sirens._

Sakura cursed and stumbled over to the two large enclosures, kneeling before one. Grabbing at the bars, she winced at the shock of agony that hit her palms, quickly removing them to assess the damage. She should have known that some kind of confinement jutsu would be placed on the cages; otherwise the wolves would have broken free long ago. Gritting her teeth, she grabbed hold once more and pulled with all the strength she had, unknowingly using the last of her chakra to fuel her force. The door groaned and broke off its hinges, vertigo making Sakura stumble back. Hurriedly moving to the other cell, she ripped the gate off, steam rising from her black leather gloves, the smell of burnt flesh overtaking the atmosphere. _At least my hands and arms match now…_

The wolves shuffled out, all sitting in a big group in the center of the room. Hearing people crashing down the hall, Sakura ran out the door, barely aware of the tiny pitter-patters of feet following her.

Behind her mask, the kunoichi's eyes widened when she came to a halt. The hallway came to a dead end and split in two directions, both looking exactly the same: white, sterile and indistinct. Why couldn't there be one of those glowing EXIT signs like in the civilian restaurants? Grumbling, she narrowed her _henge_'d eyes. Right or left?

An orange-tinted wolf scuttled to the left of her, all nine of the others following in its footsteps. Trusting their instincts, only because she had to choose either way, Sakura dashed after them, pulling alongside the ginger hound. It swiveled its head to look at her, sinister eyes such a deep grey they seemed like ashen coals smoldering through her. Storing this information in the back of her mind, Sakura set all her thoughts on going faster. The adrenaline of her break-out seemed to trickle into nonexistence with each passing second, the wounds on her thighs beginning to flame in agony.

Once again, the wolves turned another left when their path split, no hesitation shivering through their small bodies. Sakura pumped her legs harder as a single blue door stood erect at the end of the hallway. She grasped her bleeding hands around the knob and nearly tore the door out of its frame in her haste, finding a set of stairs that led to a final door in the ceiling within. Relief flooded her body just as heavenly light seeped into her vision through the outline. She was blind and suddenly living through her first dawn. It was enlightening and empowering.

Sweet, sweet freedom.

Only now did she remember how good it felt.

Beginning to lose alertness of her surroundings, with another burst of adrenaline –the only thing that seemed to be keeping her going- Sakura took off into the surrounding forest. She prayed that her almost inexistent chakra signal and the cover brought by the dense greenery would delude her trail enough for the sound nin's to miss her.

The 19-year-old ran for what felt like hours, until her legs screamed for her to stop. A cool drop of water hit her bare bicep, sliding down clammy pale skin. More followed, darkening her black clothing. A large crack of thunder reverberated through the air, rain pouring down in buckets, drenching all the sorry creatures not under cover. A pure black wolf jutted from their current course, heading off with the others. Senses dulling, she pursued them without thought, blinking her eyes rapidly to stay awake.

As the group broke from the woodland, a large cliff came into view, chasm scoring deep like a vein into the Earth. The wolves –one by one- hopped down from a ledge close to her. Sakura followed and slid over the side, feet coming into contact with the bottom of an outcropping in the rock face. It provided enough shelter for all of them to stay out of the rain, but little more room to maneuver. For the time being it would do well enough—the kunoichi was hardly in any position to search for anything better. She didn't stop to ponder how the wolves could have known a place like this existed.

Collapsing against the wall, Sakura slid unceremoniously down to the moss-covered floor, unthinkingly aggravating the wounds on her back. She hissed as the edges of her vision blinked, blackness starting to creep in like an unwanted fog. Fatigue, blood loss, and empty chakra stores added up to her inevitable exhaustion; any knowledgeable medic may have said a normal person would have fainted long ago. Though, she'd never been quite "normal," had she? Oh, well.

As sanctuary seeped past its dam, Sakura was aware of the haunting image of ten pairs of glowing eyes staring at her. An involuntary shiver ran down her spine when she looked directly into the stare of a dark cobalt wolf. God, that gaze was familiar, too familiar. It almost looked like-

Her thoughts ceased as her conscious faded into the nothing.

**~ \ ~ Prologue End. ~ / ~**

**A/N: I shouldn't have posted this. I wrote it about a year ago and recently edited it (barely, not really, oops). I should be updating **_**Pretty Little Devil. **_**Damn. But I'm back into the Naruto fandom again, so that's a plus. Expect more from me soon!**

**Live well, darlings!**

**Yours, Alice**


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